Can you give an example of how Recurrent Preparation goes down? I am not following it

If you had a always on ability that required you to prep it every 1 minute then your ability would function for 1 minute, then you'd prep a minute, then you'd get another minute of your ability, and so on.

It seems like you might want to take it at a higher level of prep, but that means you get one use of your ability and then you have to prep. If you fail or stop, you're ability doesn't work for an amount of time equal to what it would require you to prep it. So:

Regeneration (Fast) (Preparation Required, 1 minute, -30%) [35] would let you gain 1 HP every 2 minutes assuming you could spend the time concentrating to reactivate your power. Failure to do so means you have to wait 1 minute and then try to activate it again. If you succeed you heal 1 HP and then you have to prep again, and so on as long as you want to use your ability.

Occultism - This covers the "what every superstitious person knows" about the subject. Almost nothing get's exempted from this unless it's really /truly/ hidden. However, while someone has the possibility of having picked up a potent secret along the way, I apply these penalties: Should it be better covered by a Professional Skill? -5. Should it be better covered by Hidden Lore? -10.

Professional Skills - These are things like Biology, Theology, Alchemy, Naturalist, skills that in a world with actual real secret might have the chance of covering in part or whole without actually understanding it should be a secret. For instance in a world with 'secretive' undead (vampires, or even zombies where it's not a 'viral' creation system) then Theology would probably have some info on it, even if those who could have uncovered this lore might consider it 'superstitious nonsense'. In a world where these are 'open' secrets, theology definitely covers Undead. However, if the creature, item, or situation seems best handled by Hidden Lore, these skills get a -5 (for example knowing that religious symbols only work for True Believers or those with Holiness). This skill would get a +2 bonus on Lore checks that "everyone should know" (frex: garlic does repel vampires).

Hidden Lore - This skill get's corresponding bonuses based on where the Lore would 'naturally fall' stuff like 'everyone knows' (Vampires are repelled by garlic) +5, stuff only "professionals" might know +2 (that it's an ashwood stake that 'permanently' stops Vampires, any other wood just stuns them for a few seconds), and no bonuses on the truly secret details (it's actual Holiness, not just waving around a religious symbol).

Yeah, I know Hidden Lore is an Average skill, but I like rewarding Players who take those Hard and Very Hard skills that don't have much application in an Action game (Naturalist, Biology, Theology, Veterinary, etc. Also this idea comes from Monster Hunters which I adapted a lot of my 'house rules' from when it came out.

I've flirted with the idea of just making "Hidden Lore" a technique off of professional skills... but that always feels too complicated. Also I usually fall into the "there should be a skill just to cover the wackiness that isn't also dealing with everyday life". Specifically for the idea of 'professional' monster hunters.

And something I didn't write there:

However I'm also torn on the notion that while learning these "hidden' lores, most characters would also realistically pick up other side skills along the way. Something not always represented on character sheets.

Like if learning how to best fight demons, one would expect to pick up some related info from a theological source, and thus should have some level of Theology on the character sheet.

'Everything supernatural that is not hidden' can be a pretty huge scope

Then again, can be a very tiny scope

Still . . . in a setting where it's not hidden magic, how best to differentiate the Dragon scholar, undead scholar, or demon One?

Hmmmm

To use a less fantasy example . . . The Soviet Union is something people used to believe existed, and would have been able to have a default to tell you about AKMs, the Kremlin, or a Hind. But there existed people who invested in 'know about Soviets' and spent CP on it

So say in our fantasy setting people believe Dragons exist, ruled by Council of Wyrms, different colors have different breath weapons etc, much like Soviets